Thursday, August 26, 1999
Upscale seniors' residence proposed
But plan meets opposition in Boone County
BY KRISTINA GOETZ
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BURLINGTON — Seniors in Boone County could soon have a specially designed upscale community to live in if an Indianapolis-based development company gets its way.
Lee and Urbahns Development Co. wants to build a luxury community that would attract people ages 50 to 70 and include such amenities as swimming pools, clubhouses, laundry facilities as well as valet dry cleaning, an intranet service designed exclusively for those who live there and an advanced security system.
“We are not the first voyager in this concept,” said Rick Martin, the company's director of marketing and management.
It would be the first of its type in Boone County, however, and would be located on about 67 acres on the north side of Mt. Zion Road near the northwest quadrant of the Mt. Zion Road/I-75 interchange in Boone County.
The proposal includes private apartments, condominiums, senior-assisted living facilities and a medical clinic.
But a room full of opponents expressed their concerns about flooding, quality of life and whether the development fits within the county's comprehensive plan — a document that guides land use — at a public hearing Wednesday night.
Residents even hired Anne McBride, a land planner from Cincinnati, who said that the proposed plan did not fit the state's criteria for a zone change.
Other residents like Lowell Wood, who lives on Mt. Zion Road, talked about quality of life issues.
“If such a development goes in, the surrounding homes would decrease in value,” he said, adding that crime would increase because of the proposed apartments.
But Mr. Martin told members of the Boone County Planning Commission that this type of development would serve the needs of an increasing population group.
“With the population growing older, there are folks who want these amenities,” he said.
According to statistics from the Kentucky State Data Center at the University of Louisville, the number of people ages 65 and older will increase from 31,722 in 1990 to 56,500 in 2020.
The developers hope this community would serve those needs, but opposing residents say this isn't the spot to do it.
“The quality of life in that area depends on your decision,” Mr. Wood told the planning commission.
The company had made a zone change request in December, but withdrew it in February after encounteringmuch opposition to a commercial request that was included, which would have allowed a grocery store, bakery and other businesses nearby. The current request does not include any commercial uses.
“We were good listeners,” Jerry Dusing, an attorney for the company, told the commissioners. “We reviewed that entire project. Our marching orders from the developers were to do what you told us. We did that.”
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